re: Bank of China NY Signs On To Deutsche Bank’s Cross-Border Clearing Service

I agree completely. If DB is successful, and the value proposition would tend to say that they will be, this is an early step in a significant change to the way cross border business will get done. Worth watching.

re: Bank of China NY Signs On To Deutsche Bank’s Cross-Border Clearing Service

That is very true. This isn't exactly the same thing, but I just read an article in the Financial Times that people in Africa essentially pay a "remittance tax" of almost $2 billion/year because of the higher-than-average cost of sending money there. That's partly becasue 2 companies (Western Union and MoneyGram) dominate the business, according to the Overseas Development Institute. Not quite the same as SWIFT payments, but shows how much room for improvement there is still in the payments system.

re: Bank of China NY Signs On To Deutsche Bank’s Cross-Border Clearing Service

The speed of delivery of the payment is also important to note. I think that international payments are an area where the customer experience is so poor that it would be easy for a new player to enter the market and take customers away if it can provide better speed and price. Deutsche seems to be getting ahead of the curve on that.

re: Bank of China NY Signs On To Deutsche Bank’s Cross-Border Clearing Service

Absolutely Chip. Many people aren't aware of all of the friction in cross-border payments because they don't send money internationally. But it's a huge hangup in improving global commerce and is also a step in the right direction in terms of banks being more transparent about their fees.

re: Bank of China NY Signs On To Deutsche Bank’s Cross-Border Clearing Service

This is a very interesting development; especially as it matures bilaterally between China and the U.S. and as it moves outward to include more countries and currencies. It has the potential to remove a great deal of friction from global commerce.

re: Bank of China NY Signs On To Deutsche Bank’s Cross-Border Clearing Service

The transparency theme is interesting here and it reflects not just the needs of the Bank of China, but also the expectations of corporate customers (regardless of where they are based) that they are getting the best prices and most competitive services from their banks.